Through the years, play compositions of different types have been provided by practitioners in the toy arts to amuse children and adults and to aid in the development of manual skills and dexterity, as well as creativity. While the variety of such play material compositions is virtually endless, all generally involve the use of free-forming or malleable materials, such as oil base or water base gums and gel compounds which may be manipulated and shaped by the user. Certain materials have been provided which are moldable and tend to retain their shapes, such as modeling clay or the like. Others, however, have been provided which are looser and more free-flowing, such as novelty play materials and compositions. Still others are gel-like and provide interesting characteristics, such as shaking or quivering similar to gelatin dessert products.
Regardless of the type of play compositions used, it has remained imperative that such materials be safe for young children. Safety requirements have evolved through the years as safety concerns have grown. Generally, safety requirements mandate that play material compositions be nonirritating to the skin or eyes or the like, and be nontoxic if ingested. Additional requirements have been expected of these materials to avoid damage to clothing, upholstery fabric, or carpeting.
Play compositions having molding or modeling characteristics by which a child can represent people or objects are well known and generally comprise products of mineral origin, i.e., clay products, or vegetable origin, i.e., starch products. These particular materials are, in general, nonelastic and nonstretchable over significant lengths. Additionally, these modeling clays are messy and frequently have oils and other staining ingredients which are difficult to remove from carpets and fabrics. Elastomeric silicone-based play compositions are known and are essentially designed to be stretched, as well as to be rolled into a ball which has a high degree of elasticity or "bounce" under suddenly applied stress. However, silicone-based modeling compositions or puttys are generally known to have an unpleasant feel and have limited stretch capabilities, thereby limiting the material to a narrow field of play activity. Moreover, silicone puttys cannot be readily removed from fabric and carpets and, therefore, are not preferred materials for use by children.
Grain or wood flour play compositions are known in the art as being child-user friendly. Specifically, flour or other starch materials have been found to be harmless if accidentally ingested, have no unpleasant odor or feel, and are readily removable from carpet or fabrics. However, most flour or starch modeling compositions require the use of flour and other fillers to give physical integrity to the materials so as to enable the retention of detail or shape and consequently are dense and heavy from the cumulative amounts of binder and flour. Moreover, flour modeling doughs are water based and an inherent problem of such doughs is the loss of volume (shrinkage) upon drying.
One attempt to overcome the shrinking or drying problem has been to incorporate large proportions of filler in the dough mixture which technique has been ineffective in significantly holding water. Moreover, large amounts of filler causes flaking, cracking, or crumbling of the dough composition.
Yet another problem associated with conventional water/flour based doughs is that they are heavy and hard to manipulate. Dense heavy play modeling doughs are awkward and the child is limited in the types of shapes that can be created without the dough falling apart.
Recognizing the need to provide a more versatile play modeling dough material, the present invention was configured. Specifically, there was significant interest in providing a modeling dough material that is kneadable, moldable, pliant and ductile enough to avoid tearing during use; that can be used for long periods of time without drying to the point that it becomes unusable; that would not be harmful if accidentally ingested; and that exhibits a pleasant tactile feel with no unpleasant odor. It was further sought to have a play material that is light weight; which can be cleaned up and removed from carpets and fabrics with water; and which can be molded and maintain detail until it is reworked. It was also important to produce a composition exhibiting all of the above properties while being moderate in cost.